Grilled Muffins...

Another gorgeous snowstorm, then another foot of snow. We have had the best snow this winter, some of the best snow we've had for years.

I am still amazed I have somehow ended up living in a place where I know I have to take my camera or I’ll be sorry. My dentist, Dr. Wendy, has her office in Stonington. If I’m lucky I time it right so I can eat at the Harbor Café before or after. I’ve always loved the small place but then they shellacked marine charts to the tabletops! What a great idea. I sat at chart #103 and had a close look at the waters surrounding Castine. And, yes, I had a grilled blueberry muffin, you already know one of my weaknesses is a grilled muffin... And bacon. One deserves a treat on a going-to-the-dentist-day, don’t you think?

I recently went to the Morning Moon, in Brooklin, Boatbuilding Capital of the World, for breakfast. They had a very lemon muffin, with pecans--grilled, of course--that was delightful. I saw Chip, from the Brooklin Inn, just down the street, eating there as well.

So then on a recent Sunday, I went to the Brooklin Inn for brunch. It's a dirty job, trying all these places for you, but someone has to do it. I do love eggs benedict and I'm afraid the Brooklin Inn's are so good I may have to indulge every single Sunday... (With thanks to Dwight for the sign photo, http://www.dpeck.info)

Brooklin, with what I refer to as Bob's Boatyard, and other fabulous spots, like the tiny handful of shops including Blossom Studio, is a must visit for every traveler up this way. I saw Rich Hilsinger, the director of the WoodenBoat School, at the Wine Shop's monthly tasting recently. Just because I'll be too busy this summer to take a class, doesn't mean you shouldn't. The school is fabulous. I took Elements of Seamanship, with Jane Ahlfield and Gretchen Snyder the summer I turned 40 and had a great time. We learned so much in a week and had a great time. The waterfront is the best you'll find along the coast. They have so many different courses--building all types of wooden boats, carving, seamanship, sailmaking, rigging, oil painting...

And I didn't tell you what I did on February 14, did I? Valentine’s Day found lucky me at the Arborvine, celebrating Margaret’s birthday with Barbara and Sissy. I met Margaret through the Blue Hill Foliage, Food, and Wine Fest, as her artwork was used for the poster and it's Barbara who runs Gallery 66. I had swordfish with an orange miso sauce—so delicious. I walked up from the inn under stars and a moon. Margaret is my second friend who turned 77 in the last year, Dr. Charlotte on Deer Isle being the first. Seems to me that’s about the luckiest year ever.

Wool blankets, rain slickers, and marathoners

When I was six, we were living on a farm in the state of Washington and all I wanted for my birthday was a sheep. Even then, or perhaps especially then, I was spoiled rotten and got what I wanted. I named her Kate Greenway and have adored sheep and all things ovine ever since.

Which is why I stopped at the Swans Island store on my way to Rockland recently. I first felt their blankets' loveliness at Paradise City Arts Festival in Northampton, MA, a scrumptious art fest, should you ever be out that way. Turns out in the summer, the Swans Island folks have sheep right there on Route 1! In February they don't but they do have time to give a tour, showing off the dying room (enclosed but with a pebbled floor for drainage, which is very cool), the room with the big looms, and the gallery of blankets, throws, and pillows. They even make fancy bags for storing the blankets (with cedar sides to help keep moths away). It's a little confusing because much of the wool for the winter weight blankets comes from sheep living on Nash Island. The reason for calling the company Swans Island is that that is where the founders, umm, founded it.

Potholes vs. Frost Heaves
I'm not sure why some areas tend toward one and not the other but we are certainly in the frost heave part of the world.
Have you ever heard of frost creep? Me neither. What about frost law? We'd call it a load limit or road restriction.

If you're eager to start your 2008 charitable giving, I have a great idea for you. I have this perfectly nice friend, Joe Greenberg (of the Left Bank Cafe Greenbergs), who I have known since 1988 and my days working at the Cafe in Blue Hill. Well, I thought he was perfectly nice. Turns out he's crazy. I say that because he's in training to run a marathon June 1 in San Diego as part of a fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. No offense to Joe, but when I saw him last, he was not looking like a marathoner! So I have been inspired to donate big and try to get others to, too, because Joe running a marathon is crazy.
Crazy. Like me running a marathon... Or SpongeBob... You can check out his site. When I last spoke to him, he was up to 8-mile runs and thinking it was pretty cool that a 5-mile run was already no biggie.

Have you been watching the crazy weather? On Monday we had a bring-out-the-rain-slicker-and funny-rubber-boots rainstorm. Since then, though, we've had sunshine and birds singing and Ken, the webmaster, says one of the geese laid an egg--spring must be right around the corner. I'm not sure how I'll recognize it here in Maine. When I lived in Western Mass, I would drive by not one but two sugar shacks on the way to work. I would love to see the billowing steam...

I'm so happy to be able to say, "Darn it! I missed the Polar Bear Dip again." The Bangor Daily News had some great photos of the swimmers.

No doldrums here

I had the most fun inquiry today. Authur Will Azeperak emailed asking if the Blue Hill Inn has an attic. Turns out he is working on a scifi series, set in Blue Hill! Did you know Kurt Gödel stayed here in 1942? He was unquestionably the greatest logician of the 20th century, says Peter Suber. Suber's article mentions that Gödel walked along Parker Point Road, deep in thought, just as we do today. Gödel proved time travel had definite descriptive mathematical formulas, Azeperak said today. He will somehow be putting all this--and details about the inn--in the next book in his series.

I was on my own for dinner tonight and craving a burger. My favorite burger in town is at the Blue Moose. I bundled up and trudged down to the store to get a local paper and down to the Moose, where I lucked into a booth. But then the waitress broke the news to me: no hamburgers. No hamburgers?! Turns out one of the elementary school basketball teams had come in, hungry for burgers (just like me). So I had to put down the paper and peruse the menu. And then decide between an Asian sounding crepe or scallops with fava beans. I ended up ordering the scallops. And so I settled in to reading the paper, nibbling the perfect french bread, and sipping Spinyback's sauvignon blanc. Mike, who along with his wife, is the propietor, swung by my table. I wasn't alarmed as he often stops by to chat with guests. Tonight, however, he was delivering bad news--the scallop dish, ready to be delivered to my table, had been delivered to the floor. Alas! Did I want to wait for it to be made again or order something else? I stayed with the scallops and read more of the paper and enjoyed the house salad with a really nice vinagrette dressing. Everyone apologized for the delay but I was having a lovely time. And then came the scallops, which were so good--oodles of them broiled perfectly and surrounding peas and potatoes and corn and beans--so delicious. Had I not been forced by the lack of hamburger to venture there, I'd have missed them. Turns out the basketball players were in because they had lost every game but had been such good sports about it, their parents decided they deserved a treat. Their loss was my gain. I'll be back soon.